Box-hook.



PATENTED NOV. 14, 1905-.

A. M. MARETZEK.

BOX HOOK.

APPLICATION mum AUG.13, 1904.

neutrino STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BOX-HOOK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 14, 1905.

Application filed August 13,1904. Serial No. 220,650.

To a]! vim/1t 1'15 may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT M. MARETZEK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hoboken, in the county of Hudson and State of New Jersey. have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Box-Hooks, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The ordinary form of box-hook or bag-hook which is in common use by truckmen and longshoremen in the handling of freight and the like consists of a hook proper,of wrought-iron or other suitable material, having a transversely-extending wooden handle connected to the end of the shank of the hook. The connection between the shank and the handle is usually effected by extending the said shank through an opening in said handle and upsetting the end of the shank to form a shoulder. All of the strain to which the hook is subjected in the ordinary operation of the same falls upon this upset portion or shoulder on the end of the shank, and as the same is necessarily thin the means of connection between the tool proper and its handle constitutes an inherent weakness in the tool itself which renders it extremely objectionable and really dangerous. Many accidents have actually occurred by the giving way of the upset portion of the shank.

It is the purpose of my invention to overcome this defect in the construction of the box or bale hooks now in use, and it is a further purpose of the invention to provide means whereby the opposite ends of the handle may be utilized as a hammer. The ordinary wooden handles now employed are frequently called into use for the driving of nails; but as the ends of the same are. unprotected and as the material of which the handle is made is very soft it will be obvious that the handle quickly becomes worn out, split, or entirely broken.

The details of the invention will hereinafter appear and the novel features thereof will be set forth in the claim.

In the drawings forming part of the specification, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a box-hook constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a detail plan view with one of the handle-scales removed. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of the handle, and Fig. l is a cross-section of the same.

Like reference-numerals indicate like parts in the different views.

The hook portion 1 of my improved tool may be of the form shown or of any other form which may be found desirable. The shank 2 has formed integral therewith the handle-web 3, the said web extending transversely of said shank,as shown. These parts may be wrought, cast, or otherwise formed in one piece, it bei ing proposed to make the same by mop-forging in a single piece of metal. The web 3 is flat throughout the greater portion of its length; but the opposite ends thereof are enlarged and slightly flattened to form the hammer-faces 4c. The inner surfaces of the enlarged portions are recessed, as shown at 5, the recesses being curved in plan view and provided for the reception of the handlescales 6. These scales are constructed of wood and are located on opposite sides of the web 3, the ends thereof being suitably shaped to exactly fit within the recessed portions of the enlarged ends of said web. It should be stated that the outer surfaces of said enlarged ends are curved and rounded and that the outer surfaces of the handle-scales 6 merge easily and without abruptness thereinto. The said scales are permanently secured to the web 3 by means of the rivets 7, which extend through both these parts, as shown.

The handle of the tool, which is made up of the handle-web 3 and of the scales 6, is elliptical or oval in cross-section in order to provide for a more secure grip being obtained thereon than can be obtained by the ordinary cylindrical handle or the handle which is circular in cross-section. It frequently becomes necessary to use a tool of this kind as ahammer, and the enlarged ends at of the web 3, which is integral with the shank and body of the tool, provides means whereby this may be readily done without danger of splitting or defacing the tool or in any way decreasing its life.

The great advantage of my improved tool is that by forming the shank and body of the same integral with the main portion of the transversely-extending handle I obtain the maximum strength and overcome the great objection which exists in the tools of the same kind which are now in use.

\Vhile my invention is designed particularly as an improvement in box-hooks and the like, it is obvious that it is not limited to this particular kind of tool, but may be used in connection with other kinds of tools in which transversely-extending handles are employed.

Having now described my invention, I claim-- A device of the character described, comprising a shank, a transverselyextending In witness whereof I subscribe my signahandle Web having enlagged end portions ture in the presence of two witnesses. forming hammer-faces an having its intermediate portion formed with flat faces lying ALBERrl MARETZEK' substantially parallel with the axis of the Witnesses:

shank, and handle-scales secured to the said l FRANK S. OBER,

faces of the web. I WALDO M. CHAPIN. 

